An agreement was reached on the further expansion of trade and economic cooperation

The head of state noted with satisfaction that the arrival of a large Hungarian delegation, despite the conditions of the pandemic, testifies to the strong friendship and mutual respect of our countries. The peoples of Uzbekistan and Hungary are linked by common historical roots, close partnerships. Today Hungary is one of the important partners of Uzbekistan in the European Union. Thanks to mutual efforts and practical interaction, this partnership is strengthening every year. Over the past four years, the volume of trade between the two countries has almost tripled. Despite the difficult circumstances of the pandemic, this positive trend was maintained last year.

An important factor in this is the close interaction of business people and regions. In particular, in February of this year, a regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation and a business forum were held in Budapest. The first meeting of the Uzbek-Hungarian Business Council was held in Tashkent yesterday. During the talks, it was noted that there are huge untapped opportunities for cooperation. The main attention is paid to the issues of further strengthening trade, economic, investment and financial ties.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted the importance of increasing trade, eliminating imbalances in bilateral trade, and implementing mutual supplies of products in demand. The need for effective use of the opportunities of the Uzbek-Hungarian Trade House, which is being created in Budapest, was emphasized. Industrial cooperation is another priority for cooperation. Agreements were reached on the implementation in Uzbekistan of new projects in the field of food industry, pharmaceuticals, agricultural processing, chemistry and mechanical engineering using the best practices of Hungary.

Interregional cooperation is also developing. Thus, in Samarkand and Jizzakh regions, it is planned to introduce Hungarian experience in modernizing the economy and social sphere, industrializing agriculture, and increasing export potential. For this purpose, a group of highly qualified experts arrived from Hungary. The President of Uzbekistan proposed to establish partnerships between the regions of the two countries and hold an annual Forum of Regions.

The Hungarian side expressed its readiness to exchange advanced experience and technologies in the field of agriculture, storage and processing of fruits, fish farming and seed production. Special attention at the meeting was paid to the development of cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Our countries have established an exchange of experience in the spheres of health care, science and education. This academic year, students from Uzbekistan have received more than 100 grants to study at universities in Hungary. Debrecen University will start its work in Tashkent this year.

At the talks, an agreement was reached on the consistent continuation of cooperation in this direction, the further strengthening of ties between institutions of science and culture. The parties closely interact and support each other within the framework of international and regional structures, such as the United Nations, the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States. Responsible persons were instructed to develop a 'road map' for the full-scale implementation of the agreements reached at the talks.

Source: UzA